Building Your Resume Without Going Back To School
When men want to learn a new skill they get a new job, when women want to learn something new, they go back to school -- or so I found in years of hiring. In my experience, men were more likely to apply for jobs that they were under-qualified for and plan to fake it until they made it. Overall they were right to do so, if you're only applying to jobs you already know how to do, you're underselling yourself and stumping your growth. Here's three methods to build up your resume, make connections, and learn new skills, without going back to school.SpeakYou're an expert in something and there are organizations that would love you to share your expertise. Not only will you get great practice at public speaking but the next time a friend of an audience member is looking to hire an expert in your field, you may be the first person they recommend. Contact the organizers of the following groups to get started:
- Meetup.com - lists thousands of groups on hundreds of topics. You may know nothing about restaurants but there's plenty of restaurant owners who would love your advice on social media.
- Local Chamber of Commerce, co-working spaces, and professional associations - anywhere business owners and managers meet, you need to be.
- Conferences - you may not be ready for the big time but there are thousands of smaller conferences desperate for speakers. Start looking early though, many conference start booking speakers up to year in advance. You'll typically get a free full pass to the conference in exchange and some clout to boot.
PublishIt costs almost nothing to self-publish a book these days. Although getting picked up by a publisher is better for your resume, there's no reason not to publish yourself now while you search for a publisher. Don't think you've got enough material or time to write a book? Start a blog in your area of expertise or start publishing white papers. Soon enough you'll have enough content to string together into a book.
- Lulu - Popular print on demand service costs nothing to make your book available by taking a cut of each sale. They'll also translate your RTF or Word file to eBook format for sale on the Nook and iBookstore for free (but they don't support Amazon's Kindle).
- BiblioCrunch - Free platform to create your eBook for any reader. They keep 15% of sales. Support this female-owned NYC start-up :)
- CatchAFire.org - Matches volunteers with non-profits. Plus they're a women-owned start-up based in NYC.
- Idealist.org - Lists thousands of volunteer and non-profit jobs throughout the world.
- VolunteerMatch - A wide variety of local volunteer opportunities.
- Serve.gov - Tends towards government-related opportunities like helping military families, disaster preparation, etc.
- Hackathons - Bring together business developers, graphic designers, and hackers to create technology over a weekend. Even if you don't have the skills to participate, volunteer to help run the event. You'll meet hundreds of working and freelancing technologists in about 72 hours.
- Always keep your business cards handy. Even if you don't have a current position, you should have personal cards made out with your name, general skill set/title, email address, and phone number. Add your personal blog, Twitter handle, and LinkedIn profile if you can.
- Get business cards from as many people as possible and follow up! Connect on LinkedIn within a week or send them a follow-up email thanking them for you their time and letting them know that you are looking for new opportunities if they hear of anything.